Blue Rocket Recruitment was born out of SDW Recruitment, a traditional agency model specialising in the shipping & logistics sector. I started SDW back in 2002 back when we had a fax and advertised jobs in Thursday’s Echo. SDW is still going strong today, but I felt our recruitment solutions needed to evolve and be fit for 2024 & beyond.

Recruitment agencies play a critical role in bridging the gap between employers and job seekers, but many argue that the traditional recruitment agency model is fundamentally flawed & I am certainly one of them, even though I have run an agency for nearly 25 years.

Employers often express frustration about the high costs and the perceived lack of value from agencies. So, let’s explore the reasons behind this dissatisfaction and the deeper issues embedded within the traditional recruitment model.

Lack of Transparency

One of the main reasons employers feel dissatisfied with recruitment agencies is the lack of transparency. While recruiters put in significant effort—what employers see is often just a collection of CVs accompanied by a substantial bill.

From an employer’s perspective, the recruitment process seems simplified, leading them to question why they couldn’t simply use internal HR, LinkedIn, or job boards like indeed. What’s often overlooked is the value of the recruiter’s expertise in vetting candidates and understanding market trends, which directly affects the quality of the hire. However, this expertise can sometimes be overshadowed by the perceived cost of agency fees.

Recruitment as a “Necessary Evil”

Hiring staff is a constant need for any business, but it’s time-consuming and disruptive. Many employers feel as though recruitment is a “necessary evil,” something they must go through but don’t see as valuable. Even with a skilled recruiter involved, employers often still feel inconvenienced by the entire process and are left with a hefty bill at the end.

This sentiment is comparable to when a boiler breaks down at home. You have to spend days taking cold showers, hire an expert, pay a hefty bill, and at the end, you’re left exactly where you were before—with a working boiler, but significantly lighter in the wallet. The value, while necessary, doesn’t feel like a gain; it just restores a previous state.

The High Risk for Recruiters

The recruitment industry often operates on a “no placement, no fee” model, which means agencies only get paid when they successfully place a candidate. This model places all the risk on the recruiter, who may invest hours of work for a potential hire that never materializes. As a result, agencies are forced to charge higher fees to offset the costs of failed placements. The reality is that recruitment is a high-risk, high-reward business, and the fees reflect that unpredictability.

On average an agency will fill 1 out of 5 jobs they work on, so basically they get paid for Monday and work the rest of the week for free.

So, the one paying client, gets charged more to cover the other 4 jobs worked on, that the agency is not getting paid a penny for.

Blue Rocket Offers an Alternative Solution to the Traditional Model, Where Everyone Wins.

Knowing that the traditional agency model required evolution, we’ve launched our recruitment solutions that combine the latest technology, utilising the leading job boards and platforms, along with keeping the personal human touch, with a dedicated consultant on hand to review / shortlist CVs, set up interviews, manage the offer process & everything else a traditional recruiter would do for you.

For us, we get paid for every role we work on. For our Essential Boost solution, that’s just a one off fee of £399 – a lot less than the £4000 average fee with the traditional model, but for us we are not working 4 days a week for free on roles that we won’t get paid for.

You, the client pay a fair fee on engagement, we get paid for all the job board credits we use & the work we do managing the whole process. You get a dedicated consultant to help in any way you wish, setting up interviews and offering advice. Ultimately, you hire the same candidate you would do with the traditional model but feel you have been provided a great service as a paying customer, for a fee that is not hard to justify.

Win, win.

Hopefully this blog, provides a little insight into why we have launched Blue Rocket.

My mission, is simple, to make recruitment better for everyone….

If you have any questions, would like to chat some more on how we can potentially help, give me a call on 023 8033 6633 or pop me an email to hi@bluerocketrec.co.uk

All the best

Steve Wyeth